“Okay.”
“What about letting Evie go to the station with Kerry for her safety? In the meantime, I’ll take you home to pack bags for both of you,” Callum said.
Oh. Hazel hated being separated from Evie under such dire circumstances, but her daughter seemed entranced by Kerry’s shiny badge and getting her own detective shield sticker.
Hazel hesitated. “Detective Wilder is the one with the gun...”
Kerry chimed in, “Maybe Callum can help out. He’s an ex-Navy SEAL turned professional bodyguard.”
Evie looked at Callum. “Are you going to catch the bad man?”
Callum didn’t respond, just stared at Evie as though flustered. What about her question had caused such a reaction? He seemed to be frozen.
“What if he comes after us, like you said?” Evie asked.
“I shouldn’t have said that in front of you,” Callum said.
“Honey, Callum isn’t a policeman. He is a bodyguard,” Hazel said.
“What’s a bodyguard?” Evie asked.
“Someone who protects people from bad men,” Callum said.
Evie smiled big and again Hazel noticed a change in Callum, the way his body stiffened. “Then you can protect me and my mommy.”
He smiled down at her. “I’ll try.”
Evie glanced down at her toy. “It’s okay, Cookie,” she said. “You’re all right now. Just remember, it’s wrong to hit and push. You should always be nice to other people.”
Hazel reached over and put her hand on Evie’s. “Now you’re going to the station and I will go home and pack clothing for us.”
“Okay, Mommy.”
It was getting late, past six in the evening. “All right,” Hazel said. “Let’s go.”
Detective Wilder joined her partner and Evie as they walked up the street.
“Let’s go to your place,” Callum suggested.
The abruptness stopped Hazel short. This man was a complete stranger.
“I’d like to talk a little more,” he said. “And Kerry has a point. I’m worried that man will come after you. You got his plate number. He probably got yours. He could find you.”
Why was he so concerned about her? He didn’t even know her. “I’m a newbie with all this. What kinds of people do you usually work with?”
“My next client is Blake Reynolds.”
“The country singer? Really? You must be some bodyguard. Are all your clients celebrities?”
“Oh, all right. Let’s go.”
The police were still working the neighborhood but the emergency vehicles had left a while ago. Callum drove Hazel in silence to her apartment, located above a bakery. Callum had arranged for someone to take her car in for repairs. She had left a key under the mat. She might drive a Mercedes but it was the lower end model and she had saved for a long time for a decent down payment. The money she made was just enough for her and Evie to get by. So far, being a personal chef didn’t earn her huge income. Her business showed signs of picking up but she wasn’t quite there yet.
When they arrived at her apartment, Callum passed the front and turned to go around to the back.
The first floor of the older building was a charming little bakery with a neon Open/Closed sign on the door, four old-fashioned, small round tables in the dining area and two booths against the window. The main feature was the display case...and, of course, the kitchen. The owner of Jasmine’s Bakery let her cook her biggest batches there for a modest fee.
After Callum parked, Hazel walked from the rear parking space up the iron stairs. Unlocking her apartment door, she flipped on a light and entered, Callum behind her. “It isn’t much. Just two bedrooms and not very big.” She didn’t know why she felt the need to explain that.
Callum didn’t say anything as he stepped inside, looking around.
“When my ex, Ed, walked, I started saving for a house, but I also want money tucked away for Evie’s college education.”
Hazel found herself looking at him, his rugged, stubbly jaw, his thick, reddish-blond hair. Her gaze moved to his bright blue eyes...and stayed. He had been watching her study his face and now his eyes flared with something more than friendliness. A spark of heat flashed inside her.
How could just a look do that to her? Did he feel it too? Granted, he was hot, but she had seen other attractive men, and none of them had caused this reaction.
“So, you’re an ex-Navy SEAL and now you’re a bodyguard,” Hazel said by way of breaking the awkward moment. “If you’re going to protect me and my daughter, I should know more than that about you.”
“I’m surprised that’s all you know about me,” he said. “I am, after all, a Colton.”
The name did sound familiar but not familiar enough. “I may have heard the name before. I haven’t lived here my whole life.”
“Given the news lately, you probably have. Payne Colton is my father.”
Hazel searched her memory but still nothing stuck. “I’m sorry. I don’t watch the news. I try to keep it away from Evie. I don’t think it’s healthy for a five-year-old to hear about murders and lying politicians. And besides that, I have a very busy schedule. We do watch a lot of family movies and listen to country, though.” She smiled. “You might have to introduce us to Blake Reynolds.”
He chuckled. “I can’t believe it.”
What couldn’t he believe? That she didn’t watch the news or that she didn’t know him by name? She couldn’t detect conceit. He wasn’t bragging about being a Colton, just surprised she hadn’t heard of them.
“My father is chairman of the board of Colton Oil and owns Rattlesnake Ridge Ranch just outside of town. But we do all work hard for our money,” he said.
Then it dawned on her. She had heard of a man who had been shot and was now in a coma, a prominent local rancher and businessman gunned down for no apparent reason. She hadn’t paid any further attention to the story. Until now.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” she finally said. Callum came from lots of money, then. Hazel felt herself stiffen and erect a barrier. She was from a very humble background and her last encounter with a rich guy hadn’t turned out so great.
“Don’t be.”
“I grew up in a small Colorado mountain town where everyone knew everyone and there were no conveniences, no big-box stores, no chain restaurants or movie theaters. We lived outside of town on several acres in a small colonial. I spent my childhood reading or watching satellite television and going to community events with my older brother and our parents.”
“Sounds charming.”
His handsome grin disarmed her a moment. She should go pack but she didn’t feel she knew enough about him to stay with him yet. And if her daughter was going to be near him for the unforeseeable future...
“In some ways. But growing up that way made me a little naive. I met Evie’s father, Ed, when I went to college and moved to Arizona with him. When I got pregnant, he left.”
“How does that make you naive?”
Edgar Lovett had lied to her about almost everything about himself. The only thing he hadn’t lied about was his college degree. “I should have known he wasn’t reliable. I had never met anyone so experienced at duping